Untitled #6 by Jessica Bruah

Wednesday greetings, my collector friends! The crisp air and colors of the season have me walking about in a haze of cinematic nostalgia. And while I have memories specific to my own history—a certain flower-patterned corduroy* jumper and the woolly tights that went with it, a full harvest moon that hung improbably low in the sky on Halloween night when I was 6 or so—it's the nostalgia of movies that capture this time of year in eras and places that have little or nothing to do with my own experiences that have me most captivated. Today's edition hits that cinematic sweetspot similarly. (And not to mention alliteratively!)

Untitled #6 is our second edition from talented photographic tale-teller Jessica Bruah. When we last visited our heroine in Stories #46, she'd ransacked the supply closet and gone a bit overboard with the Post-it Notes. In today's edition we find her in a considerably more explosive situation.

The tableau Jessica's created in Untitled #6 brings to mind two of my favorite yesteryear fixes: Todd Haynes' gorgeous Douglas Sirk homage, Far From Heaven, and the series that's been the toast of basic cable for a few seasons now, Mad Men. Our circle-skirted protagonist looks like she's hitting the road with her Samsonite in tow, and burning down the house she's leaving behind to ensure that there's no turning back. And who could blame her, really? Life in the bell jar sure wasn't the fairy tale it was made out to be—just ask Betty or Cathy Whitaker!

*Today is Corduroy Appreciation Day, afterall!